New Year Resolutions for NBA's Top 10 teams

#4 Toronto Raptors - Show up on the road & against competitive teams

DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry

We are almost midway through the season, with a majority of teams having played 41 games, and the Toronto Raptors have more or less made no noise. Yet, they have quietly put themselves as the second-best team in the East with a record of 28-11.

A lot of positive vibes in the North right now but there are a few huge reasons to worry.

1) Disparity in home and away play - If the team's true and best form is at home then it's difficult to understand why a Playoff-tested team like the Raptors fails to carry that on the road. The team is 14-2 at home, with their second loss coming in their most recent game against the Miami Heat. On the other hand, they are 14-9 on the road. Some of their losses, especially the back-to-back ones at New York and at Indiana are real head-scratchers.

2) Not showing up against competitive teams - Six of the team's eleven losses have come against teams that are on this list. Against the elite bunch of teams in the league, the Raptors haven't been able to register win. The only instance of them registering wins against teams on this list is against the Houston Rockets on Nov. 14 and against the Wizards on Nov. 19. To summarize, they are 2-6 in the eight contests against teams that are also on this list.

If not for the first point, the team has a good chance to test themselves against competition in their next couple of games - against the Cavaliers and the Warriors.